Web-based Learning Solutions for Communities of Practice

Chapter 18
The IntelCities Community
of Practice:
The eGov Services Model for Socially
Inclusive and Participatory Urban
Regeneration Programs
ABSTRACT
Mark Deakin 1
Napier University, Scotland, UK
The chapter examines the IntelCities Community of Practice (CoP) supporting the development of
the organization’s e-Learning platform, knowledge management system (KMS) and digital library for
eGov services. It begins by outlining the IntelCities CoP and goes on to set out the integrated model of
electronically enhanced government (eGov) services developed by the CoP to meet the front-end needs,
middleware requirements and back-office commitments of the IntelCities e-Learning platform, KMS
and digital library. The chapter goes on to examine the information technology (IT) adopted by the
CoP to develop the IntelCities e-Learning platform, KMS and digital library as a set of semanticallyinteroperable
eGov services supporting the crime, safety and security initiatives of socially-inclusive
and participatory urban regeneration programs.
INTRODUCTION
The notion of the intelligent city as the provider
of electronically-enhanced services has become
popular over the past decade or so (Graham and
Marvin, 1996; Mitchell, 2000). In response to this
growing interest in the notion of intelligent cities,
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researchers have begun to explore the possibilities
of using CoPs as a means of getting beyond current
‘state-of-the-art’ solutions and use the potential
such organizations offer to develop integrated
models of e-government (eGov) services (Curwell,
et.al, 2005; Lombardi and Curwell, 2005). This
chapter shall report on the outcomes of one such